Salvation Episode 9 – Patriot Games: When Fiction Reflects Facts….

What Goes Down – and Up – in Salvation Episode 9: Patriot Games

Despite the attempt on Grace’s life, she did show up at the Pentagon for the meeting with the Russians.  Everything was running smoothing.  The EM-Drive was done, the Russians and the Americans had agreed to the terms.

Unfortunately, once Amanda’s story about Atlas hits the media the entire deal falls apart.  Darius and Grace aren’t blamed by the Russians though, just the U.S..  Harris is upset because there was only a 72 hour window to get the gravity tractor to the giant meteorite before.  It’s now 36 hours and once again the Russians are prepared to shoot anything they send up back down.

Harris Learns the Truth About POTUS

In the war room Claire arrives with the news that the president has issued a statement categorically denying the story.  Harris is furious.  He tells General Calhoun the only hope they possibly have is if the president, “owns” what was done and apologies.  Calhoun won’t hear of it.

So we’re not just duplicitous, we’re also gutless.

Calhoun’s plan is to take the EM-Drive and codes from Darius – by force if necessary, and launch the gravity tractor anyway.  Seriously, that’s his plan.  He thinks they can beat the Russians because the Russians have to get their ships back into firing position.  

Harris is the only voice of reason on this plan.  He states the obvious.  With this EM-Drive being the only one ever made, if the Russian’s blow it up, it’s over.  The world, is over.  Calhoun though is arrogant and on fire.  He charges Harris with getting the EM-Drive launch codes from Darius. Harris then storms out with Claire hurrying after him.  He vents to her.

This is madness! We’re in this situation because the president won’t own what she did.  What she ordered us to do!

Claire says the President isn’t going to tell the truth.  Then she tells him the truth about the President – she’s incapable of making rational decisions and it’s been that way for quite a while.   It’s Claire that says Harris has to “enlist Darius Tanz” in order to try and override POTUS and Calhoun.

The Scheme

What happens next is nail-biting, and surprising.  It doesn’t immediately register what’s going on.  Harris and Claire do go and talk with Darius and Grace, but Darius never says if  believes them.  Because there’s a timeline issue it’s hard to follow.  That’s likely by design, but in retrospect it doesn’t totally add up.

Literally right after Darius and Grace gets this news General Calhoun shows up at Darius’s headquarters with an army detail to take the EM-Drive.  There’s a short tense standoff and then Darius appears to comply, to Liam’s shock.  (Liam’s in on it as well though.)

Darius manages to pull off a bait and switch with a fake EM-Drive.  Just don’t ask how they faked this equipment with literally no warning that it would be necessary.  The important thing is that  the plan works.  It’s also a good thing they did it!  When Calhoun sends the rocket up with the gravity tractor and EM Drive, the Russians shoot it down.  It’s a profound moment of seeing Calhoun realizing that he’s doomed the world with his arrogance. Luckily, that’s not really the case.

Up, Up, and Away!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HW80LdhxFk

Salvation Episode 9: Patriot Games – The Wrap Up – Why You Should Watch This Show

Few would argue that the pilot for Salvation was great.   That being said, if you saw the pilot and tossed this show onto the “waste of time” pile, go ahead and binge-watch episodes 2 through 9.  It’s worth it.

Yes, this a network show,  Some things don’t perfectly add up (timelines in particular), and initially the characters do stem from standard TV tropes: the billionaire tech genius, the young boy wonder, the scheming reporter, are some of them. It’s partly what makes the pilot so difficult.  However, the thing about starting with a boilerplate story is that you can still cook up some decent entertainment.

Salvation is – and is not – about an asteroid that’s coming to destroy the earth.   There’s a definite metaphoric story about our current American times being told as well, and it’s being done well.  In last week’s review I mentioned ABC’s Designated Survivor.  Salvation doesn’t have that level of blood being spilled, but remember The West Wing?   Much like that show did then, the reflections of America’s political realities today are being scripted into Salvation.  

However with Salvation things are not all doom and gloom. It’s enjoyable to watch the relationship between Darius and Grace.  The struggles Harris is having with the realities of his work and the things he’s done make his character the most nuanced on the show.  Overall there’s a question being asked about where does one draw the line between following orders and a higher duty to country? As more and more layers of the personal and political connections come to light the show gets better and better.

Where is

 Heading – a Theory

Salvation has a 13-episode first season, so as lovely as that final clip of the rocket going up is, we know there’s going to be more to this story.  After watching the pilot I joked about the show deciding to blow up the planet.  Now, it’s not a joke. It looks like they may end up blowing up planet Earth!  If you saw the promo for next week you know what I’m talking about.   John Noble is back as Darius’s hateful uncle.  This is not a good sign!

Could Salvation be a prequel for this fall’s new Star Trek series?  Okay, now I’m joking – but you get the point.  160 people on a spaceship to Mars with the last of humanity would be a darn good prequel….